Fairytale
by Demenior
Summary: This is the story that came after the battle of seven against the Titan. Hear the adventures of the Sorceress and her Apprentice as they discover lessons it takes more then one lifetime to learn. Pairings later, character death


_There once was a story. It was about the end of the world, when Time would rule once more. Seven heroes were gathered to stop him. They were young, different and lively. They were mentored by the gods themselves, who had chosen them for the fact that they were the descendants of ancient heroes who had proven themselves worthy to the gods many years before. Seven mortal children fought the immortal Time… but that story has been told many times. _

_Now most know the names and deeds of Jay, Herry, Atlanta, Theresa, Odie, Archie and Neil. It would be boring to tell it all over again. So we're going to move on, to when the world was nearly recovered from the battle and the heroes were old. Their children were parents and they led quiet, peaceful lives. _

_Now, before I continue you need to remember some aspects of the old story. After the war, and when they had grown up more, the heroes began falling in love. Odie married Calypso and together they had a boy, Cody. Odie suffered a fatal stroke at the age of 67 and Calypso forfeit her immortality in her grief. _

_Theresa and Jay were engaged, but something happened between them. Theresa disappeared later and was not heard from again, and sometime later Jay vanished just as mysteriously. _

_Atlanta married Herry, and their wedding was small and out in the woods. They had twins, Adam and Henrietta. Atlanta was put into a coma in a hunting accident and taken off life support two years later at the age of 57. Herry had a heart attack at 62 years of age and was laid to rest beside his wife. _

_Neil was famous beyond belief, and loved throughout the world. He donated to charities and supported helping third-world countries and erected many orphanages with the best support money could buy. He died in a plane accident en route to Africa. He was 51 at the time. _

_Archie dated on and off and never got married; he published a few books and lived off of the money from them. Eventually, he slipped into the background and no one knows what became of him. _

_Now this story I tell you is about a sorceress and her apprentice. They came at the time of the end of the heroes, a lost hero and a cowardly hero. Alone and wrapped in their doubt and darkness, they were drawn together and their strings were tied by the Fates._

_Magic was afoot on earth once more, awakening in many and growing stronger in others. This sorceress was a growing power, and possible threat, to many. Her apprentice was no one. A coward everyone had all but forgotten. Whatever made him run away and then appear to her is uncertain, but his motives are clear. _

_It started, as it always does, on a lonely mountain. There was a wind, but the wind was always blowing and the sky was quite clear on this night. The stars and moon reflected brightly into the cave… _

**Prologue **

He crouched lower on the ridge, trying to find some means of warmth or comfort in the chilling wind. It seemed to move right through him, see his secrets and the darkness in his core. He tried to avert his eyes to the above, looking for where his weak and frail body could perhaps make this impossible climb.

Bit by bit, he stretched up. His bones popped and cracked and his wingers ached terribly as he grabbed onto a stone. It came loose in his hand and he came back down onto the ridge, nearly tumbling off the side and into the oblivion below. He pressed against the cold granite wall and caught his breath in shallow gasps.

"I'm too old for this," he whispered, and flinched at the words.

But he reached up again and found a secure hold and started his ascent again.

000

She sat among her furs, the birds and bats above twittering and whining softly. The lithe white cat beside her watched the opening with guarded eyes and the wolves were restless. They prowled the entrance, looking out into the silvery landscape and snarled at the night. She couldn't help but smile; there hadn't been a visitor in a long time. With one thought a large bat dislodged from the ceiling and left the cave and vanished into the current of wind. Her eyes grew dark and she leaned against the tiger as she slipped into the bat's mind to survey the stranger.

The ground below her dropped and she beheld an old man fighting the wind to lift his old body up. She flapped her wings and flew down above him, while her mind worked to create an image around her. She landed above him and peered over the edge, wondering suddenly why he seemed so familiar.

000

"Do you seek the help of the Sorceress, Old Man?" a voice called from above. His head snapped up and he beheld a strange creature. It was mostly bat, but had human enough features to speak and stand upright as it peered down at him with cold violet eyes.

"You're from her?" he called back.

The creature laughed, and he could detect a woman's voice in it now, "Of course, anything you find here is her doing. What is your business with her?"

"I seek a favor. Something I believe only she can do," he replied.

"And what would that be? There are many things only the Mistress can do," the bat chortled.

The man shook his head, "I will discuss that with her and her alone. If she can truly do anything, tell that woman to stop this wind and bring me to her cave. This body cannot take the extent of this climb and weather combined."

The bat-woman laughed loudly, "You dare ask of her before you even make the climb? Who are you to be so brave in the face of such power?"

"An old friend," he said, "a very old friend."

000

She forced him to climb more, her bat-persona following and taunting him, pressing for more answers. But finally he collapsed and told her persona that he could not go any further and demanded help. She could have just let him die, as she had done to many others before, but she still could not think of where she had seen this man and where she knew him from. So she sent the owls to carry him back. They dropped him in front of the wolves, where one sunk it's fangs into his leg before she could stop them.

"I would've expected more hostile company," he commented, limping terribly, towards her.

"Sit," she commanded, "and tell me just why you are so foolish as to come for my aid."

He sat, with much difficulty, and sighed in the warmer air. The animals all around watched intently and were silent, "When I heard you were living alone, I thought as a hermit. Not with all of these animals."

"Why are you here," she repeated.

"I am an old man," he remarked, "I loved but never told, and therefore I have grown up very alone. While everyone around me seemed happy and content I cried at night and hated myself behind my smiles. I have done many stupid things in my life, and suffered for them. But most of all, I am an old man."

"And very possibly a fool," she hissed. Some form of recognition was beginning to edge its way into her mind, and she was slowly starting to remember this man.

"I have many regrets, too many for one lifetime. And when I die, I don't know if I will be able to stand seeing her happy with someone else, and knowing it could have been me. Things between us, between me and her, between me and the others, can never be the same again," he was shaking. She did not know if it was because of the cold or if he wanted to cry.

"I know you, don't I?" she whispered.

He starred at her, and then a broken smile appeared on his lips, "Has it really been that long? Do you honestly not recognize me, Theresa?"

"Theresa died after she left. I am what became of her, and we are not the same," The sorceress immediately cried.

The man laughed, "I see, I see. But you and I are the only ones left, they're all dead. Odie, Herry, Neil, Jay and… and Atlanta. They're all dead, Therri, and I don't want to die. That's why I'm here, because I know you'll help me. I want to be young again, I don't want to grow old and die. I can't face them again because I'm a coward, and I accept that. But please, I can't face them again."

"Archie," she remembered, "what you ask is an expensive task. What will you pay me with?"

"My life," Archie replied smoothly, "I'll work for you, be your apprentice, for as long as I live if you make me undying."

She laughed, "You really are a coward," he didn't meet her eyes, "but I think we have a deal. As annoying as others can be, I still do get lonely out here."

"Thank you," Archie choked out, and she could see now that he did want to cry.

"What a pity a hero had to go wrong," she hissed and he flinched, "you'll sleep on the mat by the wolves and in the morning you will be young and healed. They won't bite you anymore for you are now my mutt, just the same as them."

"Understood," he agreed. Slowly the defeated man stood and limped to the straw pile near the two guards. They didn't even look at him as he lay down.

She returned to her tiger, petting it gingerly as it watched the newcomer, "What shall we do with him first?" she thought to it.

The cold air outside stopped blowing.

**End Prologue **

…I'm not dead. At least not yet.

This is a little something I've been half working on, so it probably won't be updated that often, and 'A Christmas Mission' should be updated soon, as will (hopefully) 'Rise of a Hero'. Been busy lately with warm weather and exams, that's about all I can say.

Anyways, here we have Archie and Theresa as main characters, and I'm well aware I've killed off most of everyone, and if you're upset… I understand. But it's for plot.

And what's this? Archie's an old man? Not gonna say how old, but as you can see- everyone was like in their fifties and such, so you can imagine. And Theresa's a crazy hermit, what fun can we expect?

Hopefully this was bearable,

Demenior


End file.
